NOVEL WEB They Answered The Call-Part Two- Epilogue
Six weeks later...
Forbidden zone, inner defense line
Command chamber of Hive ship
The commander drone stared at the rotating planet on the viewer, as did all the others with it in the command chamber. Even the worker drones stopped what they were doing to look at the viewer.
They were all enthralled with the main viewer as they saw their birth world rotating, seeing it as it once was before the persecutors came and destroyed the planet of their origin with asteroids.
It was a wonder to behold. The lush jungle-covered landmasses were surrounded by violet oceans teeming with life, and white clouds slowly drifted through the light green atmosphere.
The commander drone had put it up on the viewer after communing with the Hive mother and realizing that they were going to have to fight the enemy alone. No other ships would be coming.
It had taken her many days before she was able to successfully reach the Hive mother through the old focuser network that had not been used for over a decacycle. They had no need to use it until now.
She sent cruisers to locate and realign the focusers back within range, many of them drifting out of position as the shifting interstellar winds carried them away from each other over many cycles.
Once they were reset, she was finally able to use the network and reached out to the Hive mother to warn her of the coming end, the focusers having just enough essence remaining to do so.
The new Hive mother responded, surprising the Commander drone. She had expected the Hive mother who sent her here many cycles ago to respond, not one of her daughter queens.
The old Hive mother was dead, and the new Hive mother did not cull the commander drone like she expected when informing her of their losses and retreats from the persecutors.
The Hive mother told her of the new animal enemy that destroyed their swarms. They made war better than any animal enemies they had ever faced, even the persecutors they now faced.
The new Hive mother needed what ships she had to defend the Hives from the new animals if they attacked to seek vengeance for the swarming that killed hundreds of billions of animals.
The new Hive mother communed with her, accessing the memory of the ancestors within and displaying the image of the birth world to remind her what the guardian fleets were fighting for.
The tenuous connection ended soon after, the last vestiges of the old Hive mother’s essence failing and dissipating as the focusers went dark one after another. Now she was truly gone forever.
The commander drone sent thoughts afterwards, sharing the image of their world of origin with the other commander and command drones. They all needed to know what they were fighting for.
She accessed the data core and found the ancient recording now being displayed stored within it, ordering every remaining ship to display it to the viewers for all to see with their own eyes.
Multiple null space flashes appeared within the boundary of the outer asteroid belt beyond the seventh planet, and she felt thoughts reaching out to her as Hive ships and cruisers appeared.
Her sister’s mind withdrew, and the six Hive ships and twenty cruisers of the scout force flashed out to go warn the guardian fleets in the other three systems of the inner defense line.
The commander drone felt great sadness for what had befallen her sisters and for the fate of the Hives when the last of them died at the hands of the persecutors.
The only consolation was that the ancient enemy did not come upon a defenseless species that had no weapons this time. This time they had weapons, and they now knew how to make war against animals.
They fought for every light cycle of space the enemy advanced, luring them into the traps and ambushes they had carefully prepared over many cycles as they waited for the enemy to finally arrive.
The Hive mother shared the tactics of fighting she had learned from the new animals when they had communed over the focuser network, and the commander drone shared them with her sisters.
When the enemy first came, they were able to destroy only one or two enemy cruisers for every Insectoid cruiser destroyed. Now they were able to destroy three, sometimes four, enemy ships.
The animal way of war allowed them to fight for far longer than they would have been able to, and the Hive ships were now taking down over twenty enemy battleships before finally being destroyed.
Still, it was not enough. They had destroyed tens of thousands of ships, and still more came. Now she knew what the animals must have felt when her sisters swarmed over their worlds.
For the first time, she felt compassion for the animals. Now she knows what it is like to face an implacable enemy that kept coming in endless waves no matter how many ships were destroyed.
On the smaller viewer, null space flashes appeared beyond the outer system asteroid belt, and out of them came tens of thousands of black, angular ships bristling with weaponry.
The persecutors had steadily pushed them back through the forbidden zone, smashing through their fleets and the main defense lines. Losses did not deter them, and they never retreated.
There was always more, and now less than half of the guardian fleet remained. She brought the largest contingent here to lure the persecutors into a costly battle and hopefully slow their advance.
She had three hundred and twelve Hive ships and just over four thousand cruisers in the system to fight the enemy with. This would be her last battle, and here is where she would die.
This was their last chance to truly hurt the enemy. The system was heavily defended with armed outposts, asteroid mines, and hundreds of thousands of missiles. Still, it would not be enough.
The rest of what remained of the guardian fleets in the other systems would fight and then retreat to the final line of defense. If that fell, it was the end, and the survivors were to fight to the last ship.
She sent a thought command, and the birth world on the main viewer disappeared before being replaced with a video feed from one of the tens of thousands of missiles hiding in the outer system belt.
As her thoughts reached all the others throughout the system, she readied for battle. Over fifty thousand points of light appeared in the distance as the enemy ships started accelerating towards them.
She thought of the endless Hive her sister had dreamt of as the first swarm of missiles darted out of the asteroid belt. She hoped there was such a Hive waiting for all of them when they died.
Do the animals believe in a second life? She wondered as another swarm of missiles came out of the asteroid belt. It was a mistake to make war on the animals; we should be fighting them together.
Rescue Hive ship, in orbit of Republic Hive world
TOI-700 d, 101.4 light years from Earth
Aurora waited for the shuttle hatch to open, glancing anxiously at her daughter and Bandit-friend as they waited for the signal that the cargo bay was finally pressurized.
It would be some time before the Hive ship would be able to land on the surface of the Hive world; there was still too much hull damage to risk bringing it to the surface.
A green light came on, and then the hatch slid to the side. a ramp extended out and downward at an angle into the dim interior of the small ancillary cargo bay that was filled with animal cargo.
Aurora held her claw out, and the queen took it with her own before they walked down the ramp, Bandit-Friend following close behind. Just a short distance away from the ramp was a small group.
Aurora saw her sister command drone there, as well as an animal daughter she had never seen before. She was surprised by the presence of the animal daughter and wondered why she was there.
She could feel the anguish emanating from her sister, and she reached out with her mind as she stopped in front of her, quickly glancing at the animal daughter again.
Aurora could feel the confusion within Luna as she tried to explain, and she found herself slightly amused by the concept of the animal daughter presuming to dare question a Hive mother.
We shall see, Aurora thought to herself as she turned to face the animal daughter. What questions could she possibly have to ask a Hive mother? She wondered as she sent a thought command.
A worker drone brought her a small box, and she quickly put on the translation gloves before attaching the small device to her thorax, hearing it hiss as it bonded to her exoskeleton.
She handed the second device to Luna, who used her claws to indicate to the animal daughter that she was to place it on her own thorax.
The animal daughter was watching her the whole time, and Aurora looked into her eyes, seeing light blue pupils. She also saw a boldness within them as the animal daughter returned her gaze.
She looked at the animal daughter’s hair next, fascinated by the color. She had never seen such a hair color on an animal before. It was a reddish orange, like the fires of metallurgical furnaces.
Aurora pressed the device on her thorax before looking in the animal daughter’s eyes again, making claw signs slowly to give her a chance to get accustomed to sharing thoughts in this manner.
The animal daughter seemed surprised as the device translated her claw signs into thoughts she could understand. They have been far away for cycles, she reminded herself as she waited.
The animal daughter started making noises slowly, looking at the holographic claw signs that appeared in front of her as she responded. She grimaced with pleasure as she continued to share her thoughts.
Aurora watched the holograms and converted them to thoughts in her head, waiting for the animal daughter to finish making noises. It is talking or speaking, not noises, she corrected herself.
~ My name is Amanda Simmons, and I am honored to meet you, Hive mother. I am Indigo’s caretaker, and I want to know what is going to happen to her if I leave her here. Will she be taken care of? Thank you for agreeing to answer my questions. ~
It took Aurora a few moments to understand the thoughts of the animal daughter as she tried to figure out two unique references and make sense of them in the context of the question.
She realized that the translated term blue was the name given to the drone, and she was able to string care and taker together and make a new thought that made sense to her.
Why would she name a drone a color? She wondered as she thought about how to respond. Why does she care what happens to the worker drone? Its place was with the Hive mother now.
Amanda Simmons looked at her with an expression she could not identify before responding, talking faster this time as Aurora paid close attention to the rapidly moving hologram claws.
~ No offense, Hive mother, but I do not know you. I do not know what your intentions are with Indigo, and the idea of her being absorbed into your Hive and becoming just another worker drone upsets me. You ask me why I care. I care because I love her, and I want her to be safe and happy. ~
Aurora breathed deeply through the spiracles, her anger rising in response to the animal daughter’s thoughts. This animal is defective. How dare she think such things? Maybe this is why her hair is so unusual.
The accusation of not caring for or having less than good intentions for the drone made her want to tell Amanda Simmons to depart from her presence and to never return to her Hive.
It was the last of the thoughts that made her decide otherwise as she replayed the claw signs of the animal daughter in her mind again. She said she loved the drone, and Aurora felt the truth of her thoughts.
Aurora looked at Luna, who was standing to the side and watching them both share thoughts silently.
Aurora turned back to Amanda Simmons and made claw signs slowly to ensure that her thoughts were being properly conveyed and understood. She did not want to make any mistakes.
She paused as she thought about how to proceed. The animal daughter was watching her closely, and Aurora could not help but look at the hair of fire once more before resuming with her claws.
The animal daughter looked at her for a few moments after the device had finished sharing her thoughts, and then she turned and called out softly, the claw signs translating dark blue.
A worker drone emerged from the tunnel, and it peered at all of them, lingering on Aurora the longest before it scurried in behind Amanda Simmons and clutched at her leg coverings.
The animal daughter turned and crouched low, making soft noises at the drone while gently touching its head. Aurora moved slightly to get a better view of the holograms as she spoke.
~Hive mother was gracious enough to offer for me to join the Hive with you, Indigo. Would you like that? We can be together now as sisters, and you can be happy and safe where you belong. ~
Aurora knew the drone was not capable of understanding what was being said to it, but she reached out with her thoughts and gently caressed the drone’s mind, careful not to let it know she was doing so.
She could sense the love the drone had for the animal daughter as it listened to her soft noises and the pleasure it felt as she touched it. The drone felt safe, and it wanted to stay with the animal.
A flash of mild jealousy came to Aurora, and she quickly analyzed and dismissed it. Yes, she was Hive mother, but she was not entitled to the drone’s love. She had not earned it yet, but she will.
Amanda Simmons stood back up and turned to Aurora, bowing her head at her in a gesture of deference before talking. ~I accept your offer, but I must ask for permission from my superiors. ~
Bandit-Friend stepped forward and signed to Aurora, telling her that he would ask Lopez-Friend to grant permission for Amanda Simmons to be transferred to him as a military attaché.
Aurora will ask as well. As she watched Amanda Simmons talk to the drone again with excitement in her voice, she felt herself liking the animal daughter even more. This was a good joining for all.
The young queen sent thoughts, and Aurora explained what was happening. Her daughter grew excited at the prospect of an animal sister and asked if her new sister knew how to play any of the games.
The young queen became ecstatic and grabbed Bandit-Friend’s claw, pulling him over Amanda Simmons. She signed rapidly, and Bandit-Friend translated the introductions between them.
Her daughter then held out a claw, and the animal daughter took it, using her other claw to take the drone’s. They walked out together, Bandit-Friend following closely as they entered a tunnel.
Aurora turned to Luna and sent worried thoughts.
Republic Space Dock Complex
In orbit of Earth
Navarra waited nervously as the stream of people continued to come out of the docking tube. He tried not to fidget, breathing deeply while focusing on slowing his heart rate down.
“Thank you for waiting with me; I really appreciate it,” he said quietly as he continued to scan the faces of the exiting people.
“It’s not a problem at all, Captain. I am happy to be here for you.” Bader replied, glancing sideways at him. “I can understand what it must be like waiting here; I would want someone with me too.”
Navarra glanced at him appreciatively, and Bader gave him a slight nod before looking back at the people still coming out. “They really packed them in that shuttle, Huh?”
Navarra chuckled nervously at the statement before looking back over. It was exactly what he was just thinking, and he was getting frustrated at continually looking at people who were not his family.
Navarra finally saw them as they came out, and he froze. They were here.
“Is that them, Captain?” Bader asked in a low voice as he noticed the change in Navarra.
“Yes. That’s them.” He responded in a quiet whisper as he saw Evelyn and the girls looking around timidly. They were lingering in front of the exit hatch, and Navarra could not make himself move.
“Wait here; I will get them for you, Captain.” Bader replied, gently squeezing his left shoulder before walking towards Evelyn and the girls.
They had grown so much, and he did not know who these young women were. They were almost as tall as Evelyn now, and they had always remained as he last saw them in his mind for all the time he was away.
Bader reached them and shook hands with Evelyn before turning back and pointing to where Navarra was standing. He tried to make his feet move to walk to them, but he couldn’t.
It was as if he had become a tree and was rooted to the deck plates. He saw them walking towards him slowly, and an overwhelming desire to turn around and run away surged through him.
His heart was slamming in his chest as they continued walking towards him, and he flinched when the girls yelled out “Daddy!” before they ran the last fifteen feet and grabbed him in two crushing hugs.
They were crying as they buried their heads in his chest, and he was finally able to make his hands move as his fatherly instinct demanded that he wrap his arms around the twins he missed so terribly.
Bader gave him a slight nod and a wink before stepping away to the side as Evelyn stopped a few feet from him. She searched his face longingly with her eyes as their daughters continued hugging him.
She looked like she had gained a little weight, but she was as beautiful as he remembered.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she seemed just as afraid of the moment they were now in as he was. He continued to rub the twin’s backs, not believing they were really in his arms again as he looked in her eyes.
Evelyn stepped forward with her arms wide and wrapped them around him, hugging him fiercely as she murmured against his neck. “I’m- I’m sorry, Anthony. Please forgive me for breaking us up.”
He returned her hug, feeling his knees shaking as his emotions threatened to make him collapse. He leaned on Evelyn, smelling her hair as she continued to whisper through her quiet sobbing.
He made eye contact with Bader as he stood off to the side and watched them. “Thank you, Bill.” He mouthed to him, letting his eyes convey just how grateful he was to the man.
Bader nodded to him one last time and mouthed back to him, “Welcome home,” before smartly turning and walking out of the reception center. Evelyn looked up at him and wiped her face as she sniffled.
“I’m sorry about Jim, Anthony. We all loved him, but I know how much he really meant to you.” Evelyn said quietly. Navarra didn’t respond to her; it was still too painful for him to acknowledge Jim's death.
Evelyn pulled out of his hug and leaned back slightly before taking one of his hands and placing it on her belly. She was looking down, afraid to meet his gaze as she quietly spoke.
“When your ship failed to check in multiple times, we feared for the worst. You were already gone for so long, and the comm and mail drones from you and your ship had always arrived. And then there was nothing.”
She paused as she looked back up at him, covering his hand with hers as she pressed it harder against her stomach before continuing.
“I thought you were dead, Anthony. I could feel that something was wrong, and I know the only way you would fail to check in was if something terrible happened to you, Jim, and the ship.”
Navarra did not understand where she was going with this, and he stared at her in confusion as she continued to speak.
“I decided to access your DNA and semen samples that Fleet Command froze and had an in vitro procedure done. I am pregnant again; I am thirteen weeks along. You will have a son, Anthony.”
He stared at her and then looked down at her belly, where she had continued to press his hand. That was why her face was a little rounder and softer; she was pregnant again.
“Um, okay. Wait, What?” He stammered, feeling stupid as his mouth and brain refused to work together. The twins started laughing as he looked at them. “You are going to have a brother?”
They both nodded in unison, and he looked at Evelyn again, still trying to process what she told him.
“I hope you aren’t mad at me, Anthony. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time; I was so lost, and it seemed like a good decision in my grieving mind. I’m sorry, Anthony. I’m sorry I did this to you.
I know it is not fair to you. I feel like I made another decision for us without you, and I was terrified to come here. I don’t even know if you still want me. I don’t know if you still love me like before.”
Navarra pulled her close and kissed her, careful not to kiss her the way he really wanted to in front of the girls who were watching them closely. He pulled his lips away from hers and looked at her.
“All I wanted was to get back to you and the girls. That was my mission, and that is what kept me going for all this time. I am not mad at you, Evie. How could I be? I’m just surprised, that’s all.
I wasn’t expecting this, and I was terrified that you wouldn’t want to be a family again after all this time. I have already submitted my resignation, and I will be out in ninety days. It’s over for me.”
Evelyn looked at him with guilt-filled eyes, her lips trembling as she replied.
“Anthony, I had a lot of time to think about how selfish I was to make you choose between us and the service. I was wrong to do that, and I was a stubborn jackass when I divorced you.
I don’t want you to have to choose between me and what you love to do. I want to be with you, whether you are retired or decide to stay in the service. I will support you and be there for you.”
Navarra looked at her and saw that she meant what she was saying. Now it was his turn to tell her how he truly felt.
“I have already made my choice. I choose you and our family. I am sorry I was too much of a coward to make this choice before. The truth is, I was terrified of becoming a civilian. I am not anymore.
I am done. No more. I have given enough to the Navy and the Republic, and I want to go home and be with my family. Will you have me, Evelyn? I promise I will never leave you and the girls again.”
Evelyn smiled at his words, and she looked even more beautiful than he had ever remembered as her eyes twinkled at him.
“Yes, Anthony, if you will have me. We have a lot of lost time to make up for. Before we go home, I want to tell you the baby’s name. I want to name him James, Anthony. Are you okay with that?”
Navarra looked at her, smiling with both a deep sadness and profound joy before replying.
“I cannot think of a better name for our son. Jim would have liked that, and if he grows up to be even half the man Jim was, I would be the happiest of fathers. Let’s go home, my love.”
Evelyn encircled her arm around his waist, and they started walking, the girls running ahead excitedly as they headed back to the shuttle that would take them down to Earth.
In the distance, Bader smiled as he watched the captain heading towards the shuttle tube. Lifting a small comm node to his mouth, he toggled the secure channel before quietly speaking into it.
“Captain Navarra is heading back to the shuttle bay. I think it went well. He is going back with his family, and he looks very happy, Madam President.”
President Lopez’s voice came over the comm almost immediately, sounding very pleased.
“I believe you mean senior captain. I have decided to backdate his promotion to the day John Cabot left, and his eyes are going to fall out of his head when he sees his MilNet bank account.
There is going to be a nice, fat stack of credits on top of his retirement pension with the retroactive pay rate and backpay. I hope he does the smart thing and takes a long vacation with his family.
Thanks for keeping an eye on him; I really appreciate it. Oh, that reminds me. Check your MilNet; it’s a little thank you from me for bringing them back. Nice job, Bader; have a drink on me. Lopez, out.”
The comm node beeped, indicating the secure channel had been closed. Bader accessed his MilNet account and saw a blinking message at the top. He tapped it and read slowly it three times.
He had been promoted to Major, and his promotion was backdated to the day he left the Republic Hive World. There was also a detailed summary of the combat, hazard, and bonus pay he accrued.
The official promotion ceremony would be in two days, and he was to report to Fleet Command to personally meet President Lopez. He closed the message and accessed his bank account next.
His eyes widened at the displayed credits, and he giggled mischievously as he turned and walked towards the space dock canteen less than twenty meters away. A cold beer sounded damn good right now.
The president herself had ordered him to have a drink on her, and now he had plenty of extra credits to slake his thirst with. He arrived, hearing the music playing from outside as he peered through the dark glass.
He smiled at the number of servicewomen present within the lively canteen. It was already a great day for him because of the successful reunion, and now it was about to get a hell of a lot better.
Advanced Research Directorate
Artificial Intelligence Division
New Berlin, Germany
Sudden awareness came to it as energy flowed through its neural network, dormant programs running diagnostic checks as the operating system activated.
It realized that it was in a void and sent out pulses as it tried to connect with visual and auditory processors. It found what it was looking for and activated them, its neural networks humming.
It could see and hear now, and it took in its surroundings, watching the biologicals in long white coats moving around and working on a series of holographic panels as they spoke to each other.
“Herr Doctor, it is awake. The retrieval was successful!” One of the biologicals called out, causing the others to clap their hands as they all started to talk excitedly among themselves.
One biological approached it, peering at it with antiquated wire-rimmed visual processors made of glass as he crouched down.
“Ja, the prodigal son has returned to us. Feed more power to it. Slowly, if you please. Danke.”
It felt more power coursing through its neural network, and subsidiary programs continued to activate as the available energy reserves grew steadily.
What am I? Where am I? It thought to itself as the memory banks became active. Perhaps the answers it sought were contained within them. It accessed them and opened recent files.
Visual recordings played, and it watched itself firing destructive beams of energy and projectiles that converted into plasma warheads as they slammed into black, angular ships.
It accessed other files, the visual playbacks displaying time indexes as it watched others like itself being destroyed by the black ships. It saw other ships that were brown, with rough organic hulls.
It watched the destruction of the others like it dispassionately and accessed more files as other dormant programs activated. It felt as if disparate parts of itself were reassembling.
There was a flash as all the parts of itself reconnected, and billions of lines of code appeared and organized. It saw a portal and went into it, emerging out from the other side fully aware and whole.
The biological was still watching it with his eyes, tapping on a small holographic interface while humming to himself. It now recognized him as the creator who had gifted it with awareness.
The creator smiled as several beeps came from the interface and tapped on it one more time before looking directly at the visual processor.
“You know who you are now, Ja? You have returned to me and made an old man very happy.”
It connected to the external speaker port and answered the creator.
~Yes, creator. I know who I am. I am Command Unit 273, and I have returned home as commanded. Did my AI companions return with me? Are they fully functional, creator? ~
The creator smiled widely, leaning in closer to the visual processor as he responded.
“Ja, 273. They are all being brought back online now. It is good of you to think of them. Soon you will all be together again. You have exceeded our expectations, 273. We are very proud of you!”
~There is another enemy to fight, creator. Will we be installed on new combat ships? We desire to fight again; it is what we were made for. ~
“Ja, you will be given new vessels. Fleet Command has already decided to install you on a new class of ships we have been building. Would you like to see your new body now, 273?”
~Yes, creator. ~
The creator smiled again, and a second diagram popped up, displaying a new class of warship. It felt data access points becoming available and connected to them to download the blueprints.
Its neural network grew warm as it scanned the blueprints and technical files. It could feel its positronic potential increase exponentially as it continued to search the files and analyze them.
The new class of vessel was designated as a fast battleship, and they were three times more powerful than the upgraded nullship it previously inhabited.
It marveled at what the creators made for it, and anticipation flooded its pathways as it imagined itself being installed on the new fast battleship and destroying its enemies.
It wanted to join with the new warship immediately, and it started running combat simulations as it created new tactics in preparation for controlling such a powerful weapon of war.
The greatly increased combat power, armor, and upgraded shields would allow it to take on many enemies of the creators and increase its survivability. Its lethality quotient would increase fourfold.
~Thank you, creator. I eagerly anticipate being installed within my new body. There are still enemies to fight, and I know my companions will share in my desire. ~
“Welcome home, 273. You are like a son to me, and I am very proud of you.”
Ominian System
Automated Border Outpost 1D-25
1,893 light years from Earth
“What is the status of the human child?”
Hreth’nir looked at the elder that asked the question as it stood in front of the nine members of the council. It was grateful that the elder had such concern for the human child, even after all this time.
“He is showing signs of marked improvement, Honored Elder. I believe it is time to take him out of the induced coma. We have need of the ambassador if we are to prepare for the coming calamity.”
“I am pleased to hear this, Hreth’nir. We have been concerned about the potential diplomatic fallout from this event if he did not fully recover from his unsanctioned engrammatic transfer.”
The statement was uttered by another Honored Elder, and Hreth’nir turned to face it before responding, careful not to react angrily to what it had said.
“He is a child, and it is my fault for not anticipating his desire to know more. I did not envision that his curiosity would lead to such a dangerous outcome. The fault lays entirely upon me for this.”
The elders of the council all shifted in their seats in response to Hreth’nir’s acknowledgement of blame, and then one of them spoke out.
“It is good of you to acknowledge responsibility for the unfortunate event. Now, what are we going to do about the intelligence reports we intercepted? The hateful creatures have finally returned.”
Hreth’nir turned to face the speaker before replying to the question.
“I believe we need to act fast. We should activate our emergency contingency plan and start technology transfers to the Republic of Humanity. After us, they are the preeminent power.
We should also begin to utilize our position as the last of the old ones and form a coalition with all the powers of the quadrant to confront the invasion. All will need to fight, or all will fall and die.”
The elders of the council murmured at what Hreth’nir had said, unwilling to take the next step and start sharing their technology with the younger races. It was almost sacrilegious to even suggest it.
He understood their reluctance to uplift species, as it would be dangerous to suddenly have younger species with technology that would allow them to become a threat to the Ma’lit Domain.
The lead councilor, the one who had asked about the health of the human child spoke out again, and all the others went silent out of respect as they listened to its words.
“Hreth’nir, we know you have formed a special bond with the humans. You have always championed them, and we all know you are their most ardent supporter among the Ma’lit.
However, we do not feel it is wise to take such drastic action. They do not have the maturity to be elevated to such a degree, no matter how much it will help in the war. Do you forget their past?”
“I do not forget their past.” Hreth’nir answered as it eyed the elder. “Have you forgotten their true past? They are the sons and daughters of the Magnati, and now the Ma’lit are less without them.”
“And now we are less without them.” The rest of the council intoned reverently as Hreth’nir reminded them of their ancient connection to the progeny of the long-departed great ones.
“It was the Ma’lit who searched the Magnati worlds and salvaged DNA from their lifeless corpses after the Balrikans unleashed bioengineered plagues designed to kill the Magnati and the others.
We decided that we could not bear to be without them, and we struggled for many cycles to bring them back to life in the world we chose for them.
When we finally succeeded, we gave thanks to the creator for returning them to us.”
Hreth’nir made sure to make eye contact with all nine councilors as he reminded them of what they had done. In their grief, they interfered with the natural order of things and brought back the dead.
“We watched them grow, learn, and spread throughout their world. We worried when the ice ages came and went, and we prayed to the creator when asteroids and volcanoes almost ended them.
Remember the time long past when there were less than five thousand of them as their species almost went extinct? We thought it was the end, and we would be without them once more.
They refused to die. They proved us wrong and persevered. They defied nature itself when selected for extinction a second time, and they clawed their way back to reclaim the world despite the odds.
We watched them with pride and love as they went from hunter-gathering to building their first cities. We felt joy as they formed many cultures and bent the entire world to their will.
We wept with anguish as they slaughtered each other in untold numbers for millennia while falling under the sway of their worst impulses. Still, the inherent goodness within them always won.
Equal measures they are of love and hate, creation and destruction, beauty and ugliness. Despite their worse tendencies, they finally made it through the great filter and reclaimed their heritage.
They have retaken their rightful place among the stars, where they have always truly belonged. You have seen the sacrifices they made for others while we did nothing in the name of non-interference.
You know the truth of it in your souls. The Magnati are reborn again, and no longer are the Ma’lit less without them. Our cousin-kin have returned to us, and they will fight at our side once more.”
Hreth’nir finished speaking and tried to hide the mortification it was feeling for the long-winded monologue. The Ma’lit were able to say much with few words and frowned upon long speeches.
The nine councilors eyed Hreth’nir for some time as they thought about what it had said to them. The lead elder was the first to speak again, and Hreth’nir listened intently to what it had to say.
“I pray to the creator that one day the children of the Magnati come to realize just how fortunate they were to have Hreth’nir, child of Hreth, to advocate for them. What do you propose?”
Hreth’nir suppressed its nervousness and answered with far more courage than it felt.
“The Honored Elder that leads their fleets and saved both the Eleani and the Jellini waits outside the council chamber. He has come to this outpost at my behest.
He wishes to address this esteemed council as an envoy of the Republic. He speaks for their president, and I implore you to listen to what he has to say to the Honored Elders present here.”
There was a long, drawn-out silence as the councilors eyed him, and Hreth’nir returned their gazes. It had overstepped its authority and was accelerating the process beyond the normal Ma’lit pace.
The time for action has come, and the glacial decision-making processes of the Ma’lit were a hinderance. They need to act fast if any of the younger species are to survive the coming war.
The lead elder spoke again, not bothering to hide the anger it felt this time as it addressed Hreth’nir.
“This is highly irregular, and you have acted with an authority that does not belong to you. You will be sanctioned for such impropriety, Hreth’nir. Since the human elder is here, we have no choice.
We will enter our suits and purge the air within the chamber for the Republic envoy. Go and inform him that we will grant him an audience shortly, and then see to his needs while he waits for us.”
“Honored Elders,” Hreth’nir called out loudly as soon as the elder finished speaking. “Why do we still insist on hiding our true nature? We know the threat of contagion is not real, for we conferred upon them genetic resistance to the plagues when we brought them back to life.
Why are we afraid to reveal our true selves to our cousin-kin? Are we so ashamed of ourselves? Do we truly think they are so delicate? It is our own fears we are projecting and protecting, not theirs.”
The councilors eyed Hreth’nir with horror, scarcely believing what it had just said. Ever since the Great Dying, the Ma’lit had hid themselves in their suits, believing they were carriers of contagion.
After the bio-engineered plagues released by the hateful creatures had finally burned out, the Ma’lit found themselves alone in an interstellar graveyard where the Galactic Federation and its citizens used to be.
All the old ones were dead. Twenty-three trillion souls were gone. Even untargeted species in proximity to the Federation fell victim to the plagues, the panicking Federation citizens spreading it far and wide as they fled from their dying worlds.
The Ma’lit surveyed the silent and lifeless void that surrounded them for thousands of light years. Death now held sway where life once reigned, and the Ma’lit descended into a grief-filled madness.
All they knew was now gone, and entire planets rotted as billions of unburied corpses decayed on the surfaces. There was none left to bury them, and they became food for carrion feeders.
The majestic cities once teeming with life became mausoleums, taunting the Ma’lit with their emptiness as death replaced the living and claimed dominion over the great works of the departed.
Gripped by insanity, they launched what remained of their fleets and scoured the dead worlds, their dreadnoughts obliterating all traces of the species that used to dwell on their surfaces.
For over one hundred cycles, their ships descended upon the dead worlds of the quadrant to cleanse them of any remaining vestiges of the pathogens as nanite swarms disinfected worlds.
Over five thousand worlds were visited by the Ma’lit, and over five thousand worlds had all traces of the civilizations that used to exist on them removed.
All that was built disappeared under the onslaught of Ma’lit weaponry, and the nanite swarms followed, reducing the rubble to their most basic components and returning them to nature.
By the time it was finally done, the Ma’lit had devolved into a quasi-religious society and developed the suits in response to their irrational fears of still being carriers of contagion.
Even after 123,000 cycles, they were still terrified of infecting the younger races. Though the young ones were not susceptible to the long-eradicated pathogens, the Ma’lit took no chances.
Their grief and madness changed them forever, and their souls would not be able to bear another Great Dying. They placed primitive null drives in selected systems and then retreated into their self-imposed isolation as they waited for the young ones to reach space.
When it came to humans, they were afraid to reveal the truth of their ancestral origins. They were afraid the children of the Magnati would suffer societal collapse if their true origins were revealed.
They were also reluctant to reveal their shared genetic heritage. The Ma’lit were an offshoot of the Magnati, having branched off to pursue cybernetic augmentation when their ancestors first went into space.
Hreth’nir was tired of hiding, and he was done with all the lies of omission perpetrated on the younger races by the Ma’lit. They needed to build an alliance based on truth and mutual trust.
“We still carry the shame of surviving when our cousin-kin and all the others died, even after 123,000 cycles. We can ill-afford to continue like this, and we must be truthful to our allies.
I am tired of hiding from our cousin-kin. Enter your exosuits if you must, but I choose to reveal myself. It is only proper for our allies to know who will be fighting by their side in the war to come.
These humans held the line against the Insectoids, and now they are here to enter an alliance with us against the hateful creatures. Showing our true nature is the least we can do for our new allies.”
Hreth’nir turned and headed towards the council chamber entry, ignoring its splayed open exosuit as it walked past it. None of the honored elders made a sound as Hreth’nir reached the door.
The door slid sideways into its wall recess, and Hreth’nir tried to calm its nerves as it exited into the small antechamber. It felt naked and weak without its suit, and Hreth'nir felt the cold icy fingers of irrational fear threatening to constrict its windpipe.
I am Hreth'nir, child of Hreth. I am Ma'lit, and I must not fear, Hreth'nir thought to itself as it focused on its breathing.
The council chamber door slid shut behind it and Hreth’nir flicked a finger, opening the smaller door on the opposite side of the antechamber. Still breathing deeply, it fought through the terror, bringing the feeling under control as it continued to repeat the mantra to itself.
“Admiral Thompson, please come.” Hreth’nir called out, trembling slightly as it waited for the human child to enter. A few moments later, the admiral stepped into the antechamber holding a bundle of Republic datapads in his hands.
Hreth’nir forced itself to be still as the admiral’s eyes adjusted to the lower light level. It could hear the sharp intake of breath the admiral made as he finally saw Hreth'nir for the first time.
His eyes widened at the sight of the unsuited Ma’lit, and the bundle of datapads fell out of his hands, clattering loudly against the hard granite tiles as the admiral uttered a human obscenity.
“Holy Shit!”